Sen. Johnson leads outdoor rally in Onalaska one week before the election

The November election comes down to truth versus lies, according to US Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

Wrapping up his campaign for a third term, the Republican is crossing the state in a campaign bus and was in Onalaska for a rally Tuesday at the local GOP headquarters. There, Johnson said his opponent, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, and other Democrats, don’t speak about reality.

“The reality is, it is the left that divides us,” Johnson said. “It is the left that is angry. We’re highly concerned that it is the left that is the divisive party of this country. It’s just true, it’s just the fact.”

Johnson has continued his claim that Barnes has “contempt for America,” and called former President Barack Obama, who campaigned in Wisconsin last week, the “deceiver-in-chief.”

Congressional candidate Derrick Van Orden and Assembly hopeful Ryan Huebsch also spoke out at the Republican rally. At the same hour, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers was holding a rally at UW-La Crosse.

Johnson took a long time deciding whether he was going to run this year — which could be his third term — changing his mind about serving just two terms, as he initially promised. Johnson concluded that he needed to help the country.

“We’re really at a pinch point in history, I think I can help make things better. I think I can help unify and heal this nation,” Johnson said, arguing “I couldn’t turn my back on America.”